Record Condo Sale in Miami

At $21,500,000, the recent sale of the top-floor penthouse condo at the Setai Resort and Residences set a new record for the most expensive Miami condo ever sold.  At 5803 square feet, the unit brought $3,704 per square foot, also a record for Miami condos.

The seller was Netscape founder Jim Clark, who reportedly purchased the unit, ready for finish-out,  in 2004 for $9M.  The unit went on the market in February 2011 with an asking price of $27M.  The buyer is a private businessman who’s name has not been publicized.

Overall, the condo market in the Miami area showed the greatest strength of any market in the state, as prices are on the rise and activity is at a record pace. The median price of a condo in Miami spiked 17 percent since last September, while activity rose 58 percent, bringing the 2011 sales pace to 29,000 transactions. According to the Miami Association of Realtors that would surpass the record set in 2005 (although condo sales prices still remain far below those witnessed during the peak). Miami single-family homes also performed well, as sales volume increased 46 percent year-over-year, although the median price dropped some 6 percent to $131,000.

Sixty-three percent of Miami buyers in September paid in all cash, well above the national average of about 30 percent.